Hello Golden Owls,
This Friday, November 3, marks the end of the trimester. It is a minimum day and students will be dismissed at 11:55am. You will be receiving your child's report card on Friday, November 17th. If you have any questions or concerns about your child's grades, as always, please arrange to talk with the teacher, so the teacher can give you more details. We provide interpretation services when requested.
As Friday marks the end of our trimester, it also offers a time for us to reflect and celebrate the learning, hard work, and accomplishments of our students over the last trimester. As a district, we have worked to revise our LCAP and identifying key strategies for supporting students. Likewise, as a school, we have been working hard to develop our Single Plan for School Achievement (SPSA). If you would like to view a draft of our SPSA click here. I am thankful for our community and the hardworking staff that has made this possible.
As you will notice from the data, our students made significant growth according to our iReady D1 and D3 diagnostics. Even with all of this growth, we unfortunately did not meet all the goals that we wanted our students to achieve. When we analyzed the state CAASSP data comparing the 2021-22 school year to the 2022-23 school year, you will see that there are drops in student performance in ELA from 68-66% students scoring proficient or advanced as well as Math 64% to 57% students scoring proficient or advanced in grades 3-5.
Our team has been working over the first trimester to develop many strategies and implement supports to help improve our achievement. In the next few newsletters, I will be sharing some of those strategies. As part of the SPSA, you will see that there are several action steps that we are taking to support student's future growth and success. One important strategy that we hope to use is parent education and engagement to support parents in partnering with aligning school and home connection. With that, I would like to bring your attention to two parent education events happening in the month of November:
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Please join me tonight at 6:00PM for a writing workshop geared at students in grades 3-5.
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Additionally, we will be having a Math festival on Tuesday, November 14, 2023.
Both of these will be taking place in the MUR.
In Partnership,
Principal Vern Taylor
Events Calendar
November
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1st Writing Workshop 3rd-4th-5th Grades Parents Only 6-7 pm MUR
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2nd MVWSD Board of Trustees Meeting 6:00 to 10:00 pm
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2nd City of MV Bookmobile
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2nd Hearing and Vision Testing for K, 2nd & 5th
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3rd Hearing and Vision Testing for K, 2nd & 5th
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3rd End of Trimester - Minimum Day 11:55
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3rd Walkathon After school - 12:15 - 3:30 pm
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9th - 4th Grade Marine Science on Campus Field Trip
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10th Veterans Day - No School
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13th - 17th No Place For Hate Week!
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14th Math Festival 6:00 - 7:30 pm MUR
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16th MVWSD Board of Trustees Meeting 6:00 to 10:00 pm
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16th Happy Birds Assembly, all grades K-5- MUR
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20th - 24th Thanksgiving Recess - No School
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27th Parent U Extension: Effective Parent/Teacher Communication 6-7 pm MUR
December
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4th - 8th Conference Week minimum day 12:00
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12th Principal’s Coffee MUR 8:30 am
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25th to January 5th Holiday Recess
In this Newsletter
School News:
Golden Ticket Winners
Writing Workshop Nov 1st (For 3-4-5th grade parents) MUR 6:00-7:00 PM
Hearing and Vision Testing for K, 2nd & 5th - Nov 2 & Nov 3
Walkathon Nov 03 12:15 - 3:30 pm
United Against Hate Week
Math Festival Nov 14 6-7:30 pm
Parent Teacher Conferences
Winter Clothes Donations
Flyers:
November Menu Here
City of MV Bookmobile Here
2023 -2024 School Year Calendar - Here
SELPA 1 CAC Newsletter 2023-2024 Here
District News:
The Board of Trustees will meet on Thursday, Nov. 2 at 6:00 p.m.
Superintendent's Community Check In on Friday, Nov. 3
Minimum Day on Friday, November 3
MVLA Parent Ed: This Is So Awkward - A Conversation About How Puberty Has Changed
Silicon Valley Reads: A Greener Tomorrow Starts Today
PTA News
Walkathon - November 3rd.
Join the PTA
Konstella
Website
Golden Ticket Winners October 26, 2023
Ari (Koa) R. RM: 1 Limpsy R. RM: 11
Zhuoying L. RM: 2 Christopher B. RM: 12
Faye H. RM: 3 Penny R. RM: 13
Maria V. RM: 4 Aubrey V. RM: 14
Jaiden O. RM: 5 Nika S. RM: 15
Jodhveer P. RM: 6 Yuan L. RM: 16
Matthew P. RM: 8 Aaron V. RM: 17
Anh (Tay) V. RM: 9 Andrew C. RM: 18
Frida O. RM: 10 Mr. Damian
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Writing Workshop Nov 1st. (For 3 - 4 - 5th grade parents)
Guiding and Coaching Your Aspiring Writer
This 1-hour parent workshop will give strategies to guide and coach your aspiring writer with confidence. We will talk about how to help your child improve sentences and how to affirm and gently nudge children to expand their idea development.
Presenter: Jaime Koo
Parent Engagement Coordinator
School Climate, Leadership & Instructional Services
Professional Learning & Support Division
Santa Clara County Office of Education
When: Wednesday, November 1st, 2023
Where: J.A. Vargas MUR
Time: 6:00-7:00 PM
Student Vision and Hearing Screenings set for Nov 2 & Nov 3
Each fall, MVWSD conducts hearing and vision screenings of all students in Kindergarten, Second, Fifth and eighth-grade, as California State Law mandates. These screenings will take place on November 2 & 3 for our Vargas students.
Parents will be notified in writing if children fail a screening. Parents who do not want their child screened for either vision and/or hearing should send a letter to our school indicating that their child is to be excluded, and vision and/or hearing results will need to be provided from their physician.
If you have any concerns about your child’s vision or hearing, please contact our school nurse. Questions about the screenings should be directed to the Health Services office at 650-526-3500 ext. 1050.
Walkathon- November 3, 2023
We are so excited about our Walkathon next Friday, and we hope our students are as well! All students will have a chance to walk in the Walkathon with their classes before regular dismissal on Friday. Please remember that next week is the end of the trimester and dismissal is at 11:55. The Walkathon opens to families at 12:15pm. The Walkathon aims to get students moving in a fun-filled family event with prizes, music, and more. Our goal is to walk over 4000 laps and raise $25,000! It is the PTA’s main fundraiser of the year, and funds will go to next year's PTA budget for after-school enrichment, assemblies, classroom supplies, community events, and much more.
It is very important that you complete a participation waiver for your child to be able to participate in the Walkathon. Please complete the consent form in the information packet and return it to the office, your child's teacher, or the PTA. PTA reps will be at dismissal on Thursday with additional waivers.
Read the Take-Home Packet and complete included waiver: Click Here
Collect pledges at 99Pledges :
Create your student's fundraising page
Then share your student's page with family and friends!
Come to the Walkathon! This is an event for families with music, games and food!
We can’t wait to see OWL of you there!
United Against Hate Week
We are excited to join MVWSD schools in participating in United Against Hate Week. United Against Hate Week was founded in 2017. For more information, click here. At Vargas, we will use this week and the rest of the month to build empathy by answering the question: How can I better understand what someone else is going through? Helping students develop greater empathy is essential for building a positive school climate, but equally important, is considering who students have empathy for. Children and adults alike are predisposed to empathize with those who are in their own social group. Empathy for many different kinds of people is an important skill and is the basis for children’s developing conceptions of and commitments to fairness and justice. Our teachers will be engaging our students in various activities and providing time for discussions about this topic. Additionally, Our Vargas students will also be given an opportunity to take the No Place for Hate Pledge.
Math Festival - Tuesday, November 14, 2023 6:00-7:30 pm Vargas MUR
Please join us for our first math festival at Vargas Elementary School. This is an opportunity for our community to come together and celebrate the joy of math.
The mission of Julia Robinson Math Festival (jrmf.org) is to help all students build confidence, joy, and a positive identity around math. The students and their families will explore a variety of fun, hands-on, Common Core-aligned math puzzles and games.
Parent Teacher Conferences
Please mark your calendars, we will have a week of minimum days, December 4-8, 2023. These minimum days will allow us to hold Parent Teacher Conferences. Parent-Teacher Conferences are important as we partner up to support our students’ growth and development.
Winter Clothes Donations
It's finally time to get the warm clothes out of the closet! If you find items that are too small for your kids, or you just don't want them anymore, please bring them to the Vargas office and we will find them a good home. Baby and adult clothes are also needed.
Clean and gently used clothes only, please. Nothing with stains or permanent damage. We will donate these items to families in need in our community. We will be collecting donations until Friday, November 3, 2023. Thank you!
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DISTRICT NEWS
The Board of Trustees will meet on Thursday, Nov. 2 at 6:00 p.m.
Some of the topics include:
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Resolution in support of United Against Hate Week
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Resolution in support of Native American Heritage Month
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English Language Arts Curriculum Adoption Update
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CAASPP Assessment Data Overview
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Update: Transporting to Choice Programs
For meeting details and agenda, please click here: https://www.mvwsd.org/trustees.
Superintendent's Community Check In on Friday, Nov. 3
Please join us for our Community Check-In with Dr. Ayindé Rudolph on Friday, Nov. 3 at 3:30 p.m. Bring your questions. Spanish interpretation will be provided. Click here to register: http://mvw.sd/CC1103. Mark your calendars for all upcoming community check-ins! A list of dates and login information is here.
Minimum Day on Friday, November 3
Friday is the end of the trimester and a minimum day for students.
MVLA Parent Ed: This Is So Awkward - A Conversation About How Puberty Has Changed
Join MVLA Parent Ed on Tuesday, November 14 at 7pm (LAHS Eagle Theater) for Dr. Cara Natterson and Vanessa Kroll Bennet’s presentation of “This Is So Awkward - A Conversation About How Puberty Has Changed.” Learn about the modern realities of puberty you didn’t experience in your own youth but nonetheless need to understand, covering everything from body development to gender identities, from social media to easy-access pornography. Register for this free event here.
Silicon Valley Reads: A Greener Tomorrow Starts Today
Silicon Valley Reads, a community engagement program that celebrates the power of books to bring people together, has announced the theme for 2024 will be, “A Greener Tomorrow Starts Today.” The program will focus on environmental sustainability, with a selection of books and events that explore the challenges and opportunities of creating a more sustainable future, not only in Santa Clara County but worldwide. Throughout February and March 2024, Silicon Valley Reads will offer a diverse range of free virtual and in-person public programs suitable for all ages. To view 2024’s featured books for adults and children, visit https://www.siliconvalleyreads.org/.
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PTA News
Walkathon - November 3rd, 12:15-3:30PM
We are so excited for our Walkathon this Friday and we hope your students are as well! This is an amazing community-building event where students can earn prizes/raffle rewards and is also the biggest fundraiser for the school year. We hope to raise $25,000 to help fund vital programs for our students and staff. See how the PTA plans to use funds this year (2023-2024 How are Donations Used).
Are you ready for the Walkathon?
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Fundraise - Set up your student’s fundraising page at 99Pledges.
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To create student’s fundraising page: Add your child (first name and last initial)
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Share your page with friends and family! Flat donations or pledges per lap can be made. Help us reach our fundraising goal of $25,000!
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Waivers - Be sure to have both waivers signed and completed. Students will not be allowed to participate if not completed.
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Volunteer - There are a myriad of ways to help at the event and we need LOTS of help to make it happen. Sign up to help, through Konstella (link here), or email [email protected].
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Come on down to the Walkathon Friday! - Bring your family and join us for an unforgettable day of fun, music, and food. We can’t wait to see you there.
For more details about the Walkathon,check out the Walkathon website, the information packet that went last home last week with your student, or email Walkathon Co-Chairs Sandy Wen and Sukie Grewal at [email protected] with any questions. See you there!
Join the PTA!
While our membership drive has ended, we continue to welcome new members and donations (corporate matching where available) throughout the school year. It’s never too late to become a member and support the school.
Konstella
Konstella is our main PTA tool to share information with our Vargas community. It's free and you don’t need to be a PTA member to join. Stay in the loop– sign up for Konstella here.
Website
Find links to membership, Konstella, gear shop and volunteer opportunities on our website. https://www.javargaspta.org/home
Kimberly Cheng, and the PTA Executive Board
[email protected]
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